La Flèche Wallonne was created to boost the sales of a newspaper Les Sports during the 1930s and was first run in 1936. While perhaps not as revered as one of the five Classic 'Monuments', the race is widely regarded as among the most significant spring Classics, alongside the Amstel Gold and Strade Bianche, and featured on the UCI Road World Cup and UCI ProTour. It became part of the UCI World Ranking calendar in 2009.
Like many cycle race events, the course has altered considerably over the years, both in route and length. The event was first run on roads from Tournai to Liège (growing from 236 km to 300 km — its longest ever distance — in 1938), after which Mons became the starting point. From 1948, the race started at Charleroi; from 1960 the event ran in the opposite direction, starting at Liège and finishing at Charleroi (or, from 1965, Marcinelle). Some years have seen the event start and finish in the same place: Verviers (1974–1978) or Huy (1983–1985). From 1986, the race started in Spa and finished in Huy. Since 1990, the race distance has not exceeded 210 km.
Since its inception, it has been held every year except 1940, due to World War II. In 2020, it was rescheduled to September due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, the event starts in Charleroi and heads east to Huy, where the riders do three laps of a tough circuit including the steep Mur de Huy (the Wall of Huy) climb, with several sections steeper than 15% and up to 26% on one section. The finish is at the top of the Mur after the third ascent, and ascent of 'the Mur' is considered the iconic and emblematic feature of the race.
Alejandro Valverde has won the race a record five times. Five riders have won the race three times, two of them Belgians, two Italians, and one Frenchman. Five riders have won the race in back to back years. Indeed, Belgian riders dominated the early years of the event, winning the first 11 editions of the race, and slightly less than half of the editions in total (38 victories up to and including 2011). Italians have won the event 18 times.
^"Spring Classics: How to win cycling's hardest one-day races". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
External linksedit
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Official website
La Flèche Wallonne palmares at Cycling Archives
January 01, 1970
flèche, wallonne, women, event, féminine, pronounced, flɛʃ, walɔn, french, walloon, arrow, professional, cycle, road, race, held, april, each, year, wallonia, belgium, race, detailsdatelate, aprilregionwallonia, belgiumenglish, namewalloon, arrowlocal, name, f. For the women s event see La Fleche Wallonne Feminine La Fleche Wallonne pronounced la flɛʃ walɔn French for The Walloon Arrow 1 is a men s professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia Belgium La Fleche WallonneRace detailsDateLate AprilRegionWallonia BelgiumEnglish nameWalloon ArrowLocal name s La Fleche Wallonne in French DisciplineRoadCompetitionUCI World TourTypeOne dayOrganiserAmaury Sport OrganisationWeb sitewww wbr la fleche wallonne wbr beHistoryFirst edition1936 1936 Editions88 as of 2024 First winner Philippe Demeersman BEL Most wins Alejandro Valverde ESP 5 wins Most recent Stephen Williams GBR The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics La Fleche Wallonne is today normally held mid week between the Amstel Gold Race and Liege Bastogne Liege At one time La Fleche Wallonne and Liege Bastogne Liege were run on successive days as Le Weekend Ardennais both races are organised by Amaury Sport Organisation Only seven riders have achieved the Ardennes double by winning both races in the same year Alejandro Valverde three times in 2006 2015 and 2017 Ferdi Kubler twice in 1951 and 1952 Stan Ockers 1955 Eddy Merckx 1972 Moreno Argentin 1991 Davide Rebellin 2004 and Philippe Gilbert 2011 Contents 1 History 2 Winners 2 1 Multiple winners 2 2 Wins per country 3 References 4 External linksHistory edit nbsp The 2011 La Fleche Wallonne route La Fleche Wallonne was created to boost the sales of a newspaper Les Sports during the 1930s and was first run in 1936 While perhaps not as revered as one of the five Classic Monuments the race is widely regarded as among the most significant spring Classics alongside the Amstel Gold and Strade Bianche and featured on the UCI Road World Cup and UCI ProTour It became part of the UCI World Ranking calendar in 2009 Like many cycle race events the course has altered considerably over the years both in route and length The event was first run on roads from Tournai to Liege growing from 236 km to 300 km its longest ever distance in 1938 after which Mons became the starting point From 1948 the race started at Charleroi from 1960 the event ran in the opposite direction starting at Liege and finishing at Charleroi or from 1965 Marcinelle Some years have seen the event start and finish in the same place Verviers 1974 1978 or Huy 1983 1985 From 1986 the race started in Spa and finished in Huy Since 1990 the race distance has not exceeded 210 km Since its inception it has been held every year except 1940 due to World War II In 2020 it was rescheduled to September due to the COVID 19 pandemic Today the event starts in Charleroi and heads east to Huy where the riders do three laps of a tough circuit including the steep Mur de Huy the Wall of Huy climb with several sections steeper than 15 and up to 26 on one section The finish is at the top of the Mur after the third ascent and ascent of the Mur is considered the iconic and emblematic feature of the race Alejandro Valverde has won the race a record five times Five riders have won the race three times two of them Belgians two Italians and one Frenchman Five riders have won the race in back to back years Indeed Belgian riders dominated the early years of the event winning the first 11 editions of the race and slightly less than half of the editions in total 38 victories up to and including 2011 Italians have won the event 18 times Winners editYear Country Rider Team 1936 nbsp Belgium Philemon De Meersman La Francaise 1937 nbsp Belgium Adolph Braeckeveldt Helyett 1938 nbsp Belgium Emile Masson Jr 1939 nbsp Belgium Edmond Delathouwer Leducq Mercier 1940 No race 1941 nbsp Belgium Sylvain Grysolle 1942 nbsp Belgium Karel Thijs 1943 nbsp Belgium Marcel Kint 1944 nbsp Belgium Marcel Kint 1945 nbsp Belgium Marcel Kint 1946 nbsp Belgium Desire Keteleer Groene Leeuw 1947 nbsp Belgium Ernest Sterckx Alcyon Dunlop 1948 nbsp Italy Fermo Camellini Metropole 1949 nbsp Belgium Rik Van Steenbergen Mercier Hutchinson 1950 nbsp Italy Fausto Coppi Bianchi Ursus 1951 nbsp Switzerland Ferdi Kubler Tebag 1952 nbsp Switzerland Ferdi Kubler Tebag 1953 nbsp Belgium Stan Ockers Peugeot Dunlop 1954 nbsp Belgium Germain Derycke Alcyon Dunlop 1955 nbsp Belgium Stan Ockers Elve Peugeot 1956 nbsp Belgium Richard Van Genechten Elve Peugeot 1957 nbsp Belgium Raymond Impanis Peugeot BP 1958 nbsp Belgium Rik Van Steenbergen Elve Peugeot Marvan 1959 nbsp Belgium Jos Hoevenaers Faema 1960 nbsp Belgium Pino Cerami Peugeot BP Dunlop 1961 nbsp Belgium Willy Vannitsen Gitane Geminiani Leroux Dunlop 1962 nbsp Belgium Henri De Wolf Baratti Milano 1963 nbsp France Raymond Poulidor Mercier BP Hutchinson 1964 nbsp Belgium Gilbert Desmet Wiel s Groene Leeuw 1965 nbsp Italy Roberto Poggiali Ignis 1966 nbsp Italy Michele Dancelli Molteni 1967 nbsp Belgium Eddy Merckx Peugeot BP Michelin 1968 nbsp Belgium Rik Van Looy Willem II Gazelle 1969 nbsp Belgium Jos Huysmans Dr Mann Grundig 1970 nbsp Belgium Eddy Merckx Faemino 1971 nbsp Belgium Roger De Vlaeminck Mars Flandria 1972 nbsp Belgium Eddy Merckx Molteni 1973 nbsp Belgium Andre Dierickx Flandria Shimano Carpenter 1974 nbsp Belgium Frans Verbeeck Watney Maes 1975 nbsp Belgium Andre Dierickx Rokado 1976 nbsp Netherlands Joop Zoetemelk Gan Mercier Hutchinson 1977 nbsp Italy Francesco Moser Sanson 1978 nbsp France Michel Laurent Peugeot Esso Michelin 1979 nbsp France Bernard Hinault Renault Gitane Campagnolo 1980 nbsp Italy Giuseppe Saronni Gis Gelati Colnago 1981 nbsp Belgium Daniel Willems Capri Sonne Koga Miyata 1982 nbsp Italy Mario Beccia Hoonved Bottechia 1983 nbsp France Bernard Hinault Renault Elf Gitane 1984 nbsp Denmark Kim Andersen Coop Hoonved 1985 nbsp Belgium Claude Criquielion Hitachi Splendor Sunair 1986 nbsp France Laurent Fignon Systeme U 1987 nbsp France Jean Claude Leclercq Toshiba Look 1988 nbsp Germany Rolf Golz Superconfex Yoko 1989 nbsp Belgium Claude Criquielion Hitachi Merckx Mavic 1990 nbsp Italy Moreno Argentin Ariostea 1991 nbsp Italy Moreno Argentin Ariostea 1992 nbsp Italy Giorgio Furlan Ariostea 1993 nbsp Italy Maurizio Fondriest Lampre 1994 nbsp Italy Moreno Argentin Gewiss Ballan 1995 nbsp France Laurent Jalabert ONCE 1996 nbsp United States Lance Armstrong Motorola 1997 nbsp France Laurent Jalabert ONCE 1998 nbsp Denmark Bo Hamburger Casino Ag2r 1999 nbsp Italy Michele Bartoli Mapei Quick Step 2000 nbsp Italy Francesco Casagrande Vini Caldirola Sidermec 2001 nbsp Belgium Rik Verbrugghe Lotto Adecco 2002 nbsp Belgium Mario Aerts Lotto Adecco 2003 nbsp Spain Igor Astarloa Saeco 2004 nbsp Italy Davide Rebellin Gerolsteiner 2005 nbsp Italy Danilo Di Luca Liquigas Bianchi 2006 nbsp Spain Alejandro Valverde Caisse d Epargne Illes Balears 2007 nbsp Italy Davide Rebellin Gerolsteiner 2008 nbsp Luxembourg Kim Kirchen Team High Road 2009 nbsp Italy Davide Rebellin Diquigiovanni Androni 2010 nbsp Australia Cadel Evans BMC Racing Team 2011 nbsp Belgium Philippe Gilbert Omega Pharma Lotto 2012 nbsp Spain Joaquim Rodriguez Team Katusha 2013 nbsp Spain Daniel Moreno Team Katusha 2014 nbsp Spain Alejandro Valverde Movistar Team 2015 nbsp Spain Alejandro Valverde Movistar Team 2016 nbsp Spain Alejandro Valverde Movistar Team 2017 nbsp Spain Alejandro Valverde Movistar Team 2018 nbsp France Julian Alaphilippe Quick Step Floors 2019 nbsp France Julian Alaphilippe Deceuninck Quick Step 2020 nbsp Switzerland Marc Hirschi Team Sunweb 2021 nbsp France Julian Alaphilippe Deceuninck Quick Step 2022 nbsp Belgium Dylan Teuns Team Bahrain Victorious 2023 nbsp Slovenia Tadej Pogacar UAE Team Emirates 2024 nbsp Great Britain Stephen Williams Israel Premier Tech Multiple winners edit Riders in italics are still active Wins Rider Editions 5 nbsp Alejandro Valverde ESP 2006 2014 2015 2016 2017 3 nbsp Marcel Kint BEL 1943 1944 1945 nbsp Eddy Merckx BEL 1967 1970 1972 nbsp Moreno Argentin ITA 1990 1991 1994 nbsp Davide Rebellin ITA 2004 2007 2009 nbsp Julian Alaphilippe FRA 2018 2019 2021 2 nbsp Ferdinand Kubler SUI 1951 1952 nbsp Stan Ockers BEL 1953 1955 nbsp Rik Van Steenbergen BEL 1949 1958 nbsp Andre Dierickx BEL 1973 1975 nbsp Bernard Hinault FRA 1979 1983 nbsp Claude Criquielion BEL 1985 1989 nbsp Laurent Jalabert FRA 1995 1997 Wins per country edit Wins Country 39 nbsp Belgium 18 nbsp Italy 11 nbsp France 8 nbsp Spain 3 nbsp Switzerland 2 nbsp Denmark 1 nbsp Australia nbsp Germany nbsp Great Britain nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Netherlands nbsp Slovenia nbsp United StatesReferences edit Spring Classics How to win cycling s hardest one day races BBC Sport Retrieved 27 March 2015 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fleche wallonne Official website La Fleche Wallonne palmares at Cycling Archives Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title La Fleche Wallonne amp oldid 1219533806, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
